The task of reviewing some of my old material has been extremely interesting. In one respect it called to mind C.S. Lewis’ account of children discovering the hidden land of Narnia by going through an old wardrobe and coming out the other side into an unexpected place. This metaphor came to mind today when I dusted off and hung on the wall three small pieces I hadn’t looked at in years.
Way back in 2006 I took part in an informal exhibition organised by a friend in Derby. One of the pieces I showed was a “polyptych” inspired by the neolithic carvings found on Ilkley Moor. This consisted of a main image, in the form of a landscape showing the celebrated “Swastika Stone”, and three minor images forming a “predela” underneath it. These illustrated the way in which features of the rock-face behind and under the main stone suggest even today the idea of a sacred space. It was an interesting idea, but fell in the execution. On reflection I thought that the main image was very weak indeed, and didn’t really connect with the others. Although it was shown again locally I lost confidence in it, and the group has spent many years in obscurity on my racks.
Quite by accident I came across one of the minor pieces while looking for material to exhibit as a part of my continuing display at the Square & Compass. I thought that perhaps it deserved another look, and yesterday, during my current systematic reappraisal of my work, I dug out its two companions. (The main image I am very happy to forget about.) Hung in the studio I found them surprisingly good. They really do capture the sense of this being a special place, and the reason why I saw them originally as contributions to my “Holy Stones” project. Technically they are very satisfactory also. They have been reinstated on the wall of the upstairs corridor, where I can assimilate them at my leisure over the coming weeks.*
I ought to make more of these trips “through the wardrobe”. You never know what I might find.
- At the time of writing I have not been able to find any photographs of them.
For some reason